Low Hemoglobins, Comfortable Running Attire & The Physiological Reason For Doing Strides

Running Life: A Fitness Protection Production

Coach MK livestreams question and answer sessions each week on the Fitness Protection Program Facebook Page, The Fitness Protection

Program YouTube Channel, and Twitch, simultaneously. Join us! They are a lot of fun, super informative, and anyone may ask follow-up questions during the live broadcast!

This week, we take questions about low hemoglobins, comfortable running attire, and & the physiological reason for doing strides.

#WeeklyWins 6:10

Runner Interrupted

• Coach Amy has got her running mojo back and is rebuilding her running habit!
• Megan Ruyuke bought herself a membership at a SUP/kayak place and has gone every damn weekend.

Build

• Pat Humes managed to her run in early and made 55 min with 6 accelerators.
• Patricia Luna went for a run on her rest day because she wanted to not because she had to!

ReBuild

• Kristen Frazier had a great appointment with her doctor and had a solid plan to help her feel better.

Maintain

• Karen Sutton is still running 5 times a week even though things have been really challenging. She started couch to 5k to support her 12 year old who was having her own struggles with the situation. But after week 6 the continuous 20 minutes running was too tough for her so they moved over to rebuild which she finds more fun on Monday Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Saturday, Karen is doing Maintain as written Alone. On Saturday she did 9 miles and really enjoyed it. It was her longest run since February. She says thank you for the tether to the tribe. I have not posted in the group much but I felt happy knowing you are all there. #coachedandloved.
• Corina Terry celebrated her 50th birthday this week, she is also doing a great job moving runs around to make the plan work for her.
• Helen Foley has had a major mental shift. Instead of waking up thinking “I can’t believe I have to run again” she wakes up and thinks “why wouldn’t I run today? It’ll be fun”
• Nichole Ule has found her shuffle!! And did a 2 hour long run on the treadmill.
• Cara Gerard is Going to take her PTO!!

Questions - 13:47

Build - 13:47

• Hi coach MK! I thought I was more tired than usual due to the stress of the pandemic, but it turns out my hemoglobin is low. I switched a few months ago to a mostly vegetarian diet and this might have something to do with it. I had noticed my runs seemed to be getting harder rather than easier and required more walking, or occasionally skipping altogether. Do you have any ideas or thoughts on how to keep improving my running habit while I sort all this out?

ReBuild - 16:20

• I may be your lamest client ever, but what I crave is boringness. A plan where I literally don’t have to think about what I’m doing because it’s nearly the same every day. How can I modify so the workouts and strength so it’s more repetition and less thinking? Signed, Task Initiation Challenged.
• I’ve been feeling pretty crappy lately and I’m certain it’s a combination of stress, not sleeping well, and eating choices that have lots of room for improvement. I’m slowly working on all of those things, but I’ve noticed I’ve gotten in a vicious cycle of not feeling well thereby skipping my run which makes me feel worse. Any suggestions on breaking the cycle.
• I can’t find running attire that I like how they fit, feel comfortable, and look good. Have you ever thought about designing a line of running gear that fits real people (I.e not overweight, but not super toned athlete’s body)?? I know you have a lot on your plate but I enjoy running a lot more if there were clothes that fit well and I wasn’t constantly tugging on! For reference, I’ve tried all the major brands and some lady specific ones and nothing seems to fit quite right
• During my Avocado Toast run, I could feel my calves aching as I ran up hills. I thought this meant I was not using my glutes appropriately, so I started concentrating on that. But then, it felt like I was sashaying side to side too much. Maybe it's my big "glutes", or maybe I'm not running properly. I came home and foam rolled, front and back of legs, but still feeling a little sore a day later. Any correction tips?

Maintain - 29:20

• Hi! Can you explain the physiologic reason for the strides during an otherwise easy effort run or long run? Is it ever ok to just not do them and keeping it all easy, or are there disadvantages to that?
• What's the easiest way to access the rebuild strength when I'm in maintain (I want to do both) without having two training plans in training peaks?
• Okay MK, I've been locked up like a tiger in a cage. Not so much a Carol Baskin tiger, more like a Daniel tiger. But still. So I want to start increasing my long runs on Saturday. I feel like I want to do a three to three and a half-hour run. Any specific modifications I should make to the plan? For example, should I take Thursday off? Should I back off 10% on all the runs that week? Thanks.

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Coach MK Fleming is the founder of Fitness Protection, LLC. Click HERE to download her most popular training plan, Tenacious AF, free!